It's been a day after Xerazon exited his den, killed the mages and took one of their horses.
He can see a city in the distance. It will probably only take him 2 hours to reach it, so he is a bit excited to find out how humans are doing.
"Looks like we're finally getting close, huh?"
"Neh!" (Horse)
"You think that I'll have any trouble getting in? I remember humans always having a gateway of some sort."
The horse shakes his head, indicating no. Xerazon smiles a bit, as he rarely has people to talk to.
I'm glad this horse is so friendly. I rarely get anyone to talk to. I think my last conversation partner was Illia, the Goddess of Spring, a few hundred years before I decided to hibernate.
It can get really lonely. Sitting in my den and watching the sun rise then set, and the moons do the same. Sleep was my best friend, haha...
I could have turned into a human and made human friends, but everyone I had met was greedy and unworthy of my friendship.
The humans used to only have brown and blue eyes, but seeing as how that mage I stole the coat from had a greenish color, I could probably keep my eyes purple. But, I'll change them to brown for safety.
Xerazon's eyes change their color to a dark brown.
"So, Horse, what is your name?"
"..." (Horse)
"Oh, so you don't have one?"
The horse shakes his head yes, indicating that he does, but he also stares ahead with gloomy and hate filled eyes. Xerazon soon realizes that-
"Ah, I see. The humans named you, and you don't wish to keep that name any longer since you hate them, hmm?"
"Neigh." *Nod* (Horse)
"Well then, would you like me to name you?"
The horse looks towards Xerazon hesitantly, but eventually nods and agrees since this man doesn't feel greedy or mean like those others.
"Well then, I guess that's settled. However, I must warn you. As you may or may not know, naming animals/beasts or magical beasts gives them power. Depending on the one naming, the receiver will get power depending on the one instilling it. If you accept these terms of the contract that will be made, then this means that you will not be able to be free so long as I want to keep you by my side. You can turn back now and not be named, or you can trust me and accept the name and contract. Which is it?"
If this horse trusts me enough, I'll provide him with something much better than what he is thinking of.
The horse thinks while walking. Concentrating on his options. When a beast is named, they get to accept or deny the name. However, once they are named they are more or less a familiar. Every beast knows this since it's in their nature. If he were to trust Xerazon, or in the horse's case this suddenly appearing man who is offering him freedom, then that would mean he would be in the palm of his hand.
The horse realizes how unnatural it is for a human to understand a beast, and how friendly he has been to him. After all, he's been conversing with him as if they were the same creature, or spoke the same language. Maybe on the same level, not one better than the other.
The horse finally decides after around 2 minutes of thinking.
"Neigh!" (Horse)
"Very good my friend, now then. Let's pull over. You'll be undergoing some... changes."
The horse is worried a little about the last part of what this man said. 'Changes'? That word is very confusing. Beasts who are bestowed a name only gain power or lose it depending on the 'contractor'. They shouldn't change much.
He pushes aside those thoughts and pulls over, trusting the man. Someone who promises freedom, and even freed one of his friends can be trusted in his eyes. Being a human is suspicious since they are greedy, but this human seems like something more to the horse.
"Alrighty"
Xerazon hops off and looks at the horse.
Hmm, what kind of name should I give him? He is a black horse, and after I name him he will probably evolve into a pegasus of some sort, graduating from his 'Animal/Beast' status to 'Magical Beast'. The humans aren't able to pull this off, but I'm limiting the amount of power I'm going to give this horse. I'll make him slightly stronger than those two I found dead in my den. If I choose to strengthen him I'll just pore more power into his name and give him a title.
*Animals and Beasts more or less share the name. Think of it as an accent. Some people prefer beast, others animal.*
Maybe Coal would be a good name? It's dark, and powers a fire. Yeah, I like it. This horse also shows promise and a hate for humans. I'm not too fond of them either, but his hate is deep. He probably went through something bad with them. I think it would be best to keep him away from contact with humans.
Strolling around town shouldn't be a problem, but I don't want any humans provoking him.
I should also use illusion magic on him. The only humans to have pegasus are those near the top of the church. Since this horses' color is black I'll definitely attract attention from the church, which I don't want.
"Alright then horse, I have a name and I'll be starting the contract. Are you ready?"
"Neigh!" (Horse)
The horse seems glad.
"By my name, Xerazon, The One True Immortal Dragon, I invoke a Contract of Equality. Shall your name after accepting this contract be known as Coal, unless further change of the contract may occur.
By accepting this contract you agree to be treated as an equal to me. Not as a slave, or a pet. You shall be given the power of a divine beast, and may our languages sync so we may communicate.
I, as your contractor, shall be viable to bestow a title upon you and increase the amount of power you inherent by my will.
Do you agree to these terms to become my partner?"
The horse stares blankly. He has never heard of the Contract of Equality. When he was named by the humans, he was tied down. He was named Horse#43 while the other humans in the background laughed at him and whipped him until he agreed. It was a Contract of Ruling. Nothing lengthy was said, only the name, his acceptance, and a burn on his stomach where a rune was engraved.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Basically unless the contractor dies he could not escape, and he had to listen to all commands given. His contractor was the one who Xerazon stole the robes from.
The horse was also confused when Xerazon named himself, along with his title. Titles were only given to the strongest beasts. How this horse knew all of this, it was from experience as well as innate knowledge. All animals knew about their evolutions. The syncing languages thing was also confusing, but he ignored it.
After a brief period of confusion, the horse realizes that this is not a man, but a dragon. And he was not going to be named to become a slave, but a partner. Something he had not considered. Being a partner to this savior was something the gods must have set up for him, or so he believed.
Around 20 seconds of confusion and thinking went by until the horse made his decision.
"Neigh!" (Horse)
With the shake of his head, a smile appeared on Xerazon's face. A smile so sincere it seems like after so long he has finally found something he could love.
"With your acceptance, may the Contract of Equality be sealed."
A bright light appeared.
The light surprisingly didn't blind Coal, but instead gave him a warn feeling of acceptance. He would finally be free from imprisonment and be a partner, not a toy. The rune on his stomach also disappeared.
Coal grew around a foot taller, reaching around 2 meters (6.6 ft). Wings sprouted from his back, giving him a wingspan of 3.3 meters (11 ft) and a horn grew on his head.
Coal was now a Dark Pegasus. Not evil, just attributed with the Dark element. Only the people of the church considered beings with Dark attributes evil.
"What a beauty. I've finally found a mortal I could sync with. I'm surprised that after all the time I have lived I never even thought to look towards beasts, haha! Maybe because I am a Magical Beast of sorts as well? Anyways, welcome, Coal!
Now, with a proper introduction: I am The One True Immortal Dragon Xerazon. I've lived as long as the gods, and in the past feared by many. I tried to refrain from killing gods and humans, but sometimes they were annoying. Especially the humans. I decided to go into a deep hibernation after becoming extremely bored in hopes that things would get better. After I woke up, I ended up killing those four men and meeting you!"
Coal was stunned briefly. The One True Immortal Dragon? He knew dragons existed but to think that he had contracted with one was unbelievable.
Also, this newfound power that coursing through him was something he knew about, but never thought he would be able to experience.
"I... evolved?" (Coal)
"Yes, you did evolve, Coal. With the Contract of Equality I can bestow power to you equal to up to 50% of my own. You are currently sitting at a little above 1%. I use my magic power to raise yours. If I give you a title, that 50% can move to a 65% cap. The amount of magic power I give you is the same percentage of how much power you can obtain from me. My magic regenerates, but the contract limits how much power I can give you. If I have a full magic capacity I can only use 50 or 65 percent. Even if I regenerate it, I can't use any more on you."
"Wow... And you can understand me?" (Coal)
"Yes, that was in the terms my friend. Language syncing is something only in the Contract of Equality. It grants those contracted the ability to understand one another. When a third party looks, I'm speaking the human language and you are neighing. I of course know many languages, but chose to speak Tromian since you were around humans your whole life. I could change my language, and the third party would understand, but you would still understand it in Tromian. I can understand you in any language I want."
"That's amazing... I'm sorry about being so slow with all this, but it's all just too amazing." (Coal)
"No worries, it's actually refreshing to know that you aren't terrified by me being a dragon. I'm sure others wouldn't handle it as well as you are."
"No doubt about that. Well, no use struggling over the past. However, won't the humans be too worried with a Dark Pegasus walking around with the Dark attribute?" (Coal)
"Don't work about that too much. [Ancient Illusion]"
A purple light flows around Coal, and when it's done he looks at himself with confusion.
"What did you do?" (Coal)
"I changed your appearance. You'll look exactly like you did before to others. The only people who can see through the illusion would be me and you, along with someone who has an innate talent to negate illusions and anyone within 75% of my strength, which would include gods, dark gods, some angels, and some demons."
"That's actually amazing, wow." (Coal)
"I guess so, but I'm used to it."
"Hop on Xerazon, let's get back on track. We can also talk along the way." (Coal)
"Let us."
Xerazon hops onto Coal and they head off to the city in front of them.
Looks like taking that time off in my secret 2nd den paid off. Coal doesn't seem to know it, but along with Dark attribute, he has Light attribute. Something that only godlike being such as myself and the gods/angels/dark gods/demons have.
This will be interesting indeed.
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All suggestions will be looked at. Feel free to put any in the comments. I could use a little help and ideas for development, and thanks for reading! :)